Page 29 of Guard Bear (Return To Fate Mountain #5)

Chapter

Twenty-Seven

Three months later, Andre stood on the porch of their expanded cottage, watching his sister's car drive up the main ranch road. The late morning sun filtered through the pine trees, casting dappled shadows across the gravel drive.

"They're almost here," Andre said, opening the door of the workshop.

"I'm so excited to show Tommy the bees," Joy said, stepping outside into the warm light. Her hair caught the golden rays as she shielded her eyes to watch the approaching car.

Andre glanced toward the bee yard where thirty-six hives stood in neat rows, twelve more than the twenty-four that had burned.

They'd spent the last three months rebuilding the hives and expanding Joy's tiny home.

The original structure remained at the heart, but now it connected to a proper bedroom, a real kitchen, and a guest room.

Andre's heart jumped as the car door slammed and a small figure in a bright red jacket bounded toward him, his sister Megan hurrying to catch up behind him.

"Uncle Andre!" Tommy launched himself forward. "Are the bees awake? Can we see them now?"

Andre caught his nephew in a bear hug, feeling something warm and full settle in his chest. "Hey there, mountain man. They've been waiting for you."

Tommy squirmed down, his serious brown eyes taking in everything at once—the expanded house, the bee yard stretching beyond, the goats in their pen. "It's bigger than in the pictures!"

"We've been busy," Andre said, pride creeping into his voice. This place, this life they'd built together—it was something worth showing off.

Megan approached more slowly, carrying two-year-old Lucy on her hip while four-year-old Jake clung to her free hand. Behind her, Cliff emerged from the driver's seat, lifting a diaper bag and cooler from the trunk.

"Sorry we're a bit later than planned," Megan said, looking slightly frazzled. She shifted Lucy to one arm and gave Andre a quick hug. "Lucy had a meltdown about leaving her stuffed elephant at the cabin, and we had to go back."

"No worries at all," Andre said warmly.

Lucy immediately reached for him with both arms, babbling "Ankah! Ankah!"

"There's my girl," Andre said, gently taking Lucy from Megan. The toddler settled against his chest with a happy sigh.

Cliff stepped forward, pulling Andre into a brief hug before turning to Joy with a warm smile. "And you must be Joy. I'm Cliff. It's wonderful to finally meet the woman who's made my brother-in-law so happy."

"Same here," Joy said warmly. "Andre talks about you and the kids constantly."

"Thanks for making the trip,” Andre said. “I know it's not easy traveling with three kids."

"Are you kidding?" Cliff grinned, ruffling Tommy's hair. "This is the adventure of a lifetime according to this one. He's been practicing 'bee walking' around our house—moving super slowly and talking in whispers."

Joy laughed. "Well, he's got the right idea. Want to come see the whole operation? We've got plenty to show everyone."

They started with the bee yard, of course. Tommy practically vibrated with excitement as Joy helped Tommy and Jake into the tiny blue bee suits, they'd ordered specially for their visit.

"Remember what we talked about?" Andre asked, adjusting their veils. "Slow movements, gentle voices."

"Like I'm visiting sleeping giants," Tommy recited solemnly.

While Tommy and Jake got suited up, Cliff held Lucy, who babbled at the bees from a safe distance.

"There's so many!" Jake exclaimed. "Are they making honey right now?"

"They are," Joy confirmed. "Every single day. Want to see how they do it?"

They walked to the bee yard together, Tommy and Jake between Andre and Joy. Andre felt Joy's contentment through their bond, her quiet joy at sharing this with his entire family.

"Which hive should we visit first?" Joy asked Tommy.

Tommy studied the rows with the seriousness of a general surveying troops. "That one," he pointed to a hive in the middle row. "It looks friendly."

Joy lit the smoker, explaining each step to the boys, who absorbed every word. When she opened the hive, Tommy took a sharp breath.

"There's so many," he whispered.

"About sixty thousand in this hive," Andre said, watching his nephew's eyes go wide with wonder.

"That's more bees than people in our whole neighborhood!" Tommy said.

Joy lifted a frame heavy with honey, angling it so Tommy could see the perfect hexagonal cells. "See how they build? Each cell exactly the same size."

"They're like tiny architects," Tommy said. "Can they see me?"

"They can," Andre assured him.

From outside the bee yard, Lucy clapped her hands at the gentle buzzing sound. Jake had spotted the goats and tugged on Andre's hand.

"Goats! Can we pet them?"

"Of course," Joy said, helping him out of the bee suit.

The goat pen erupted in excited bleating as they approached. Fifteen dairy goats pressed against the fence, hoping for treats and attention.

"They're so loud!" Jake laughed, while Lucy pointed and babbled excitedly.

"They're saying hello," Joy explained, producing scoops of grain from a bucket. "Hold your hand out flat - see how I'm doing it? That way their soft lips can pick up the grain without accidentally getting your fingers."

Tommy went first, reaching through the fence. When Clementine's soft lips tickled his palm, his delighted laughter rang across the yard.

"That's Clementine," Joy explained to the others. "She's our herd queen. The brown one is Butterscotch, and the black and white one is Marigold."

Jake was next, giggling when Snowball's rough tongue licked his palm clean. Even Lucy got a turn, though she needed Cliff to hold her securely while a gentle doe named Primrose carefully took grain from her tiny fist.

"Goat!" Lucy declared proudly, her first clear word of the visit.

"That's right, sweetheart," Megan said, kissing her daughter's head. "What sound do goats make?"

"Baa!" all three kids chorused, sending the adults into laughter.

After the goat feeding, they headed toward Joy's workshop.

"This is where I make soap and candles," Joy said, producing a key. "Want to see where the magic happens?"

The workshop's LED panels flooded the space with clean light. Tommy and Jake stepped inside with wide eyes.

"It smells like flowers and cookies," Tommy announced.

"That's the lavender and vanilla," Joy explained, leading them to the candle-making station. "See these molds? I pour hot wax mixed with scents into them, and when it cools, it becomes a candle."

She showed them jars of finished candles, letting each child smell the different scents. Jake declared Pine Forest smelled like Christmas. Tommy said Honeysuckle Bloom reminded him of the community garden. Lucy just giggled and tried to grab everything within reach.

"And over here is where I make soap," Joy continued, moving to the soap-making area. "I use milk from our goats, honey from our bees, and oils from plants."

Tommy examined the equipment with scientific intensity, while Jake was fascinated by the wooden molds where soap cured. Even Lucy seemed interested in the colorful finished bars arranged on the drying racks.

"Can we help make something?" Tommy asked hopefully.

Joy glanced at Andre, then at Megan and Cliff. "We could make a small batch of honey soap with the kids. Nothing with lye—that's only for grown-ups. But I have a melt-and-pour base that's safe for little helpers."

For the next hour, organized chaos reigned in the workshop. Tommy stirred the melted soap base while Andre held the container steady. Jake helped measure honey, his tongue poking out in concentration. Lucy mostly watched from Cliff's arms, occasionally clapping when something interesting happened.

"Now we pour it into the molds," Joy said, guiding small hands as they filled the rectangular forms. "In a few hours, we'll have soap that you all helped make."

"Can we take some home?" Tommy asked.

"Of course. We'll wrap them up special."

By the time they finished cleaning up, the afternoon sun was climbing high. The kids' energy had started to flag—Lucy was rubbing her eyes, and even Tommy's endless questions had slowed.

Andre's phone buzzed with a text. He glanced at the screen and saw Heath's name.

"Community meeting tonight at 7 PM. Federal update on the Prescott assets seizure. Your attendance requested."

He showed the message to Joy, who nodded.

"Well, we should probably head back to the Lodge," Megan said, noticing Lucy's tired fussing. "These little ones need naps, and we promised them pool time later."

They gathered up the children's treasures—honey in mason jars, bars of soap they'd helped make, and their favorite scent of candles—and walked back toward the cars.

"This was the best day ever," Tommy declared, clutching his bag tightly.

"Mine too," Jake added sleepily, leaning against his father's leg.

Lucy had already grown cranky with tiredness, reaching for Megan with outstretched arms.

As they prepared to leave, Tommy suddenly grabbed Andre's hand. "Uncle Andre? Will you and Joy have kids someday? So I can have cousins to teach about bees?"

Andre felt Joy's surprise and something else—a flutter of possibility—through their bond. "Would you like that?" he asked.

"Yeah!" Tommy's face lit up. "Then I could be the big cousin and show them everything!"

Megan and Cliff exchanged a meaningful look, while Joy's cheeks pinked slightly.

"Well," Cliff said with a grin, "sounds like you two have some thinking to do."

After hugs and promises to see them again soon, Megan's family loaded into their car and headed back down the road.